Art work by Richard Eurich D.Litt. RA OBE (1903-1992) Catalogue Raisonnée: https://richardeurich.co.uk/. Contact: Philippa Bambach 07890 390633 — Photo: (c) Bridgeman Art Library; Supplied by The Public Catalogue Foundation

D-Day, Reconstruction - Battleships at Sea

1944

oil on panel

102h x 77w (cm)

Ships | Boats | Harbours | Ports

Seascapes | Coastal Scenes

Commissioned Works

Recto: signed and dated lower right: R. Eurich. 1944

Alternatives:

D-Day, Reconstruction - Battleships at Sea [Art UK]

D-Day: Bombardment – Battleships at Sea [CC]

Tags:

All Works in Public Collections

Commissioned Works

Night

Official War Artist

Seascapes / Coastal Scenes

Sets

Ships / Boats / Harbours

Themes

Wartime

Weather / Storm / Wind / Rain / Snow

Subject

Harris Museum & Art Gallery

Royal Navy 1

WW2

WWII

World War 2 World War II

battleship

guns

large waves

lightning

military

public collection

ships

war

warships

wartime

Medium

Oil

This is the left hand panel of an unconnected triptych. It was Richard's last painting as an Official War Artist for the Admiralty.
Frustrated by censorship, Richard expressed his discontent in a letter to Sydney Schiff on 3 July 1944, stating his intention to work on a large triptych and suggesting it might be his final work for the War Ministry. Struggling with exhaustion, ill-health, and family issues (his infant daughter Joanna had died of meningitis in March 1944), he found the painting difficult to complete. Athough he was dissatisfied with the outcome, the painting expresses an honest view of the war, more in keeping with his personal vision and less favoured by the Admiralty.

- note by Nicholas Usherwood, The Edge of all the Land, 1994.

13th July 1944: Spent night on HMS Enterprise. Captain Groves very helpful with regard to the bombardment on D-Day etc.

- RE diary entry

From the Richard Eurich interview by James Mellen done in 1978 for the Imperial War Museum "Artists in an Age of Conflict" series of sound recordings
". . . it’s very difficult to do a thing of D-Day. I made a sort of triptych of it. The centre portion is about 9 feet and depicts men running ashore on Normandy beach. And the side pictures which are smaller, though the depth is the same, depict a bombardment from the sea, the initial bombardment which covered the landing, and the one the other side is the destruction of Caen and places like that, which had to be unfortunately, for the troops to make an advance and to liberate Paris.’

- IWM / REP

Provenance & Events

COMMISSIONED • 1945

by the War Artists' Advisory Committee; Accession number PRSMG : P1115

GIFTED • [date unknown]

The Harris

by the War Artists' Advisory Committee; Accession number PRSMG : P1115

SOLO SHOW • 28th Jan to 13th Mar 1994

"The Edge of all the Land: Richard Eurich 1903-1992"

Southampton City Art Gallery

Cat 36

EXHIBITION • 8th Jun 2024

"D-Day 80"

The Guild Hall Foyer

Left panel.

References:

Other

"Bridgeman Images"; [view image]
"Art UK Curations 3"; [Artists and wartime places: Richard Eurich | curated by David Saywell, Head of Digital Assets, Art UK]

Related Works

D-Day, Reconstruction - Beach Landing (1944)

Centre panel.

D-Day, Reconstruction - Bombed Cathedral (1944)

Right panel.

D-Day, Reconstruction - Battleships at Sea

Provenance & Events

References:

Archive

Other

Related Works

The official website of Richard Ernst Eurich D.Litt. RA OBE